Cannons Defeat Hounds, 16-8, in Charlotte

June 16, 2012 - CHARLOTTE, NC - Cannons goalie Jordan Burke made 16 saves and was named Bud Light Player of the Game as the Cannons improved to 5-2 with a 16-8 win over the Hounds (1-6) tonight in Charlotte. Chris Eck won 18 of 24 face-offs and Matt Poskay scored five goals as the Cannons dominated the second half to bounce back after two losses.

"A lot of our success tonight came from winning face-offs and playing tough defense," said Cannons head coach Steve Duffy. "We stressed possession of the ball in our game plan and Chris Eck allowed us to do that. And we have a lot of confidence in our defense and certainly in our goalie."

Charlotte's Billy Bitter opened the scoring to give the Hounds an early 1-0 lead, but Kevin Buchanananswered with two in a row, first on a pass from Ryan Boyle and then with his foot on the two-point line to give the Cannons a 2-1 lead after the first 15 minutes.

Charlotte struck first again in the second quarter on a goal from Jeremy Boltus, but rookie Owen "Kit" Smith answer with a bounce shot past Adam Ghitelman. Hounds long-pole Ricky Pages buried a rebound to knot the score at 3-3, but Boyle and Eck each scored unassisted to take a 5-3 lead into the break.

The Cannons came out firing with Poskay completing a hat trick on three consecutive goals in the first two and a half minutes of the second half, followed by a goal from first-time MLL All-Star Mike Stone. Boltus scored in the final seconds of the third quarter, but the Cannons barely noticed as Pat Heim scored his first goal of the season, Bill McGlone beat Ghitelman in the top right corner, Poskay added two more and Paul Rabil made his only goal of the night count for two. Stephen Berger and Matt Danowski each added a two-pointer for the Hounds, but it was too little, too late as the Cannons snapped a two-game losing streak.

"Losing two in a row, this team needed to come out and play hard," said Burke. "Getting the win was huge for us to get to five and two before we play the Bayhawks next week."

Poskay's five goals tied his season high, which he set in the Cannons' first match-up with the Hounds at Harvard Stadium on May 5th.

The Cannons travel to Annapolis to face the first-place Chesapeake Bayhawks (6-1) for the first time this season next Saturday, June 23, at 7pm.

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About the Boston CannonsThe Boston Cannons are one of the founding franchises of Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league. They began play in June of 2001 and currently host home games at Harvard Stadium in Allston. They won their first MLL Championship on August 28, 2011. Season tickets for the 2012 season are now on sale starting at only $115 for seven Cannons home games and Championship Weekend. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 617.746.9933 or visit www.BostonCannons.com.